The 2024 AFS-USA Volunteer Recognition Awards were presented during the AFS-USA Volunteer Summit on November 1. These awards celebrate the contributions that volunteers make to AFS-USA.
Dream Team Award: The 2024 Dream Team Award is presented to the Colorado Rockies Area Team. The Dream Team Award recognizes a team that excels at volunteer development and recognition and includes a monetary award to be used toward those goals. Chaired by Kim Allegretti with Volunteer Engagement Coordinators Kayla Wickman and Kathryn Angelo, the team typically averages 50-55 registered volunteers, and all volunteers are invited to every event. From recognizing volunteers for special service at their annual holiday party, holding recognition awards at their end-of-the-year dinner for volunteers and host families, and sending handwritten thank you notes with small tokens of appreciation to liaisons, the team focuses on volunteer appreciation. They also offer training at their annual retreat and hold a volunteer “Get Involved Fair” to encourage volunteers to try new roles on the team. The team focuses on communication, welcoming new volunteers, and making sure that everyone in the team feels appreciated.
Emerging Leader Award: The 2024 Emerging Leader Award recipient is Moritz Schimmele of the Greater Chicago Area Team. The Emerging Leader Award recognizes a volunteer who shows the potential to be a future leader in a chapter, team, or on the national level. Moritz and his wife Melanie have taken on the shared role of Volunteer Engagement Coordinator, and this strong team of two has re-energized the team’s volunteer recruitment and retention efforts and injected youth and energy into this focus area. As a Returnee, Moritz has always been someone who builds community, but with this new Volunteer Engagement role, he’s become someone who also puts ideas into action. He’s always the trustworthy volunteer that shows up to orientations or events when needed. Moritz has aspirations of growing the Chicago area’s network of AFS Returnees into a pool of active volunteers, and his creative ideas are sowing the seeds for this kind of change.
Mission Award: The 2024 Mission Award recipient is Leigh Roberson of the Colorado Rockies Area Team. The Mission Award recognizes an outstanding volunteer who has made a significant impact in promoting the core values and mission of AFS-USA through their leadership. Leigh is an AFS Returnee with infectious positivity and determination. Having been a volunteer for over 20 years, Leigh drives team cohesion across areas such as support, hosting, and orientations, and she also serves as volunteer co-chair of the National Council Support Advisory Group. Leigh is a leader, a mentor, and a prime example of what hard work and determination, combined with passion for the AFS mission, can achieve.
Young Volunteer Award: The recipient of the 2024 Young AFS Volunteer Award for Outstanding Service is Mykie Baron from the Columbia Pacific Team. This award recognizes AFS volunteers 30 years old or younger whose exceptional contributions and creativity have made a difference in advancing the mission and goals of AFS. Since 2018, Mykie has made an incredible impact in the team as the Sponsored Programs Cluster Coordinator, organizing enrichment events for SP students that are so meaningful that the core students want to join in. Not only does Mykie organize a cultural event for students around every holiday, but she also helps educate host families and teachers about the importance of hosting Sponsored Programs students.
Peggy and Art Howe Award: The recipients of the 2024 AFS-USA Peggy and Art Howe Award are the Baldo Family (Carol, John, and Matthew Baldo) of the Colorado Rockies Area Team. The Peggy and Art Howe Award honors the outstanding service of AFS families that volunteer together. Carol currently holds multiple positions on the Area Team and was previously the Chapter Chair and Hosting Coordinator. John is an AFS Returnee to Norway and often serves as a liaison. They have hosted 15 students and also serve as an emergency family when needed. The Baldo Family is the epitome of AFS volunteerism: accepting and loving all. They bring in new volunteers to help spread the AFS love. They are “super volunteers,” having done just about everything. The sheer amount of time devoted since joining AFS in 2001 is staggering, and they always say yes to more.
Galatti Award: The recipient of the 2024 AFS-USA Galatti Award is Abby Munro-Proulx from the Northwest California Area Team. This award honors longstanding AFS volunteers whose commitment and exceptional dedication have advanced the mission and goals of AFS. The Galatti Award is the highest level of recognition that AFS bestows and requires a minimum of 15 years of volunteer service for consideration. As the nominee wrote, “over the past 25+ years, Abby’s roles have been diverse, and her passion and commitment are steadfast. She has been involved locally in many roles, and has recruited, supported, and trained many volunteers with deep wisdom and guidance. Newly-recruited volunteers feel empowered, encouraged, and appreciated. She brings a breadth of perspective to the NWCA team as she has also had many roles on the AFS regional and national level and is constantly networking at all levels, both within our community and within AFS as a whole. Many in the community say they got involved in AFS through Abby.” She has also been very involved with the Teacher Exchange and Sponsored Programs. As a result of her skills and commitment, AFS-USA impact goals are met in the NWCA community.
The AFS-USA Young Volunteer, Howe, and Galatti Award recipients’ names have been submitted for consideration for the AFS International awards, which will be announced in December.
AFS-USA is fortunate to have volunteers to drive its mission! The Volunteer Recognition Committee strives to honor all volunteers for their extraordinary service locally, nationally, and globally, and congratulates all Award Recipients and AFS-USA volunteers for the vital work they do to spread peace throughout the world. We look forward to your nominations next year, so watch MyAFS News in the spring for how and when to nominate volunteers for the 2025 Volunteer Recognition Awards.